Azerbaijan Integrated into European Economic Area

Azerbaijan intends to consistently integrate into the European Economic Area .

According to the Azerbaijani embassy in the Belgian Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and a representative office in the European Union, the Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev 28-29 August signed a number of agreements in the framework of the official visit to Brussels. Recall, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development is also chairman of the state commission for European integration.

The seriousness is the fact that the framework for the start of development of bilateral relations between the EU has allocated _ 19.5 million, as Mustafaev and the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule signed an intergovernmental agreement.

During the visit, he also held a meeting with the Vice - President of the European Commission, the Commissioner of Transport Slim Kallas Vice- President of the European Development Bank (EIB) Wilhelm Molterer.

Mustafayev spoke in detail about the regional transport projects, in particular, the importance of the Baku - Tbilisi - Kars for the development of the European Economic Area, adding that the occupation policy of Armenia is the only obstacle to the full development of the Caucasus region in the broad sense.

According to S. Kallas, the implementation of the said project will promote peace and prosperity in the Caucasus. In turn, Fule touched upon the importance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan for the successful continuation and development of bilateral and multilateral relations.

According to the Embassy , Stefan Fule praised the results of the June visit of President of Azerbaijan to the European Union , noting the importance of several areas of strategic cooperation of official Baku and Brussels.

The meeting was fruitful between the Minister Mustafaev and the European Bank for Development, which revealed the positive prospects of bilateral cooperation. During a meeting between Mustafaev and EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer signed a framework agreement on the bank's activities in Azerbaijan.

The European Union is the main foreign trade partner of Azerbaijan. Its specific gravity (mainly due to the export of oil to Italy) in the first half of 2013 amounted to 43.7 % of the total trade of the country.

In 2004 - 2012 years the share of investments of the EU countries in the fixed assets and oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan, in the total amount of foreign investments in the country amounted to , respectively , 51 and 36.5 %.

Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with 20 countries - members of the EU, with 17 countries it signed agreements on mutual protection of investments, and with 13 countries it set up a joint intergovernmental commission. - 17D-